Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots

In the main exhibition room, portraits of 1,036 army airmen who died in the special attack operations around Okinawa hang in the order of the dates they died. Below them, glass cases hold the wills, letters and farewell poems they left for parents, siblings and friends. The Army's air special attack operations off Okinawa began on 26 March 1945, when American forces landed on the Kerama Islands. Pilots flew out from bases across Kyushu and from Taiwan, but Chiran, then the southernmost base on the main islands, sent the most: 439 of the 1,036, counting the relay bases on Tokunoshima and Kikaijima. The museum also shows a Zero fighter that the town raised in 1980 from 35 meters of water off Koshikijima, a full-size Hayabusa fighter built for a 2007 film, and recorded testimony from people who knew the pilots, among them Tome Torihama. The letters are hard reading and the rooms are quiet. Photography and recording are not allowed in the exhibition rooms; only the lobby and the Zero room allow photos, without flash. A 200-yen tablet guide covers English, Chinese, Korean and French, and local storytellers give 30 to 40 minute talks on a set schedule. Admission is 500 yen. The Chiran Samurai District is about 2 km away.